It's a category for all breeds which is seldom, if ever, visited, but pacing mare Nillabomb must be approaching some sort of precedent

. It must surely be a rare occurence for a horse of any breed to have over 30 different drivers or riders in the lifespan of their competitive career.

When she went to the gate in the first race on Monday evening, at Pompano Park, Joe Pavia, Jr. became the 31st driving partner for the charistmatic roan-coloured mare. In her second start since dropping out of Mares Open company to a $6,100 conditioned class, the six-year-old daughter of Admirals Galley-Be A Little Lady surged to the front in the third quarter for the first time since last July only to tire late and finish fourth.

Nillabomb is flashing the signs she may soon be adding to her impressive record of 37 visits to the winner's circle from 132 lifetime starts and her next milestone is just two paycheques away at $400,000 earned - in addition to setting a possible record for the highest number of drivers in her career. Her roots trace to the Michigan Fair Circuit where Brad Kramer drove her in her early years, but well over two dozen other reinsman in Ontario and the eastern United States have followed into the race bike behind her at 15 different tracks. The ownership of Kim Beach, Sue Knapp and Gerry Knapp of Trifecta 246 Stable have changed their listing of domicile from Linden, MI recently to Boca Raton, FL. For her entire career, Eric Beach has trained Nillabomb.

Here's the roster of Nillabomb's career driving partners: 1. Brad Kramer 2. Jason Dillander 3. Stephane Bardier 4. Eric Beach 5. Richie Simard 6. Dan Clements 7. Mike Micallef 8. Chuck Connor, Jr. 9 Josh Sutton 10. Tom Sells 11. Cat Manzi 12. Greg Merton 13. Stephane Bouchard 14. Eric Goodell 15. Anthony Napolitano 16. Jeff Gregory 17. Daniel Dube 18. Kevin Sizer 19. Bruce Ranger 20. Wally Hennessey 21. Ricky Macomber 22. Ray Vizzi 23. Walter Ross Jr. 24. Danny Johnson 25. Eric Carlson 26. Rick Zeron 27. Paul MacDonell 28. Jason Brewer 29. Mike Sumner 30. Joe Pavia, Jr. 31. Mark MacQuarrie * (*in a qualifier at Windsor Raceway only).

Accident Mars Mares Open Pace

It was fortunate that a serious looking accident just before the opening quarter of the $12,000 Mares Open Handicap Pace did not cause injury to horses or drivers on the Monday evening program.

Hay Beautiful, driven by Mike Micallef, made a sudden break scattering the field and she would later be disqualified after finishing second. In a split second chain reaction, Keep On Flirtin driven by Ed Hensley and Artcam in rein to Fern Paquet, Jr. suddenly fell to the track. Both mares escaped serious injury although Hensley and Paquet were shaken up and booked off their drives for the last eight races.

Missmaximus driven by Bruce Ranger inherited the lead after the mishap and went on to win in 1:56.2. The five year old daughter of Electric Yankee-Heartwarming was making her first start after a claim for the Baron Stable of Horsham, PA and trainer Peter Pellegrino.

(Pompano Park)